Department of Business Administration

Take home exam

IBUA41 Organization and Leadership

31st May 08.00 hrs. – 1st June 17.00 hrs.

This document consists of four parts:

1. Instructions
2. Exam questions
3. Evaluation criteria
4. Cover page

The case “Reorganisation at Technocom Inc.” can be found in the folder “Take home exam”
at the course webpage.

Good luck with your work! /Nadja Sörgärde

1. Instructions
General information:
The take-home exam is completely individual and you are not allowed to discuss it with
anyone else.

Cheating and plagiarism is considered to be a very serious academic offence. The University
will take disciplinary actions against any kind of attempted malpractice in examinations and
assessments. If you are uncertain about what is considered as plagiarism at Lund University,
please consult our webpage on academic honesty, or ask me.
http://libguides.lub.lu.se/content.php?pid=169847&sid=1966476

You may use a maximum of 1.500 words in total. There is no minimum length requirement.
Answer in the form of a short essay, where you develop a line of argument with empirical
and theoretical support. Avoid bullet points.

It is important that your answer is based on theories, models and concepts in the course
literature, i.e. the textbook. Make sure to indicate what specific theories, models and
concepts you use in each part of your analysis.

Use language programs to polish up your English. Manuscripts in poor English will not be
accepted.

Referencing:
You need to refer to the author behind the theory/model/concept you are using, but it is
enough to do it in an informal way. Like this: “According to Taylor, managers would benefit
from ...” You thereby indirectly signalize that you refer to Taylor as described in the textbook.

If you use other sources (besides the textbook), you need to refer to that text according to
LUSEM guidelines. Since you are examined on your understanding of the course literature of
this class, I do not recommend you to refer to other sources. It might work well regarding a
minor topic, but the main argument should be based on theories from the book.

If you quote, you need to refer to the quote according to LUSEM guidelines. Since you are
examined on your understanding of the book, I do not recommend you to quote sentences,
or even parts of sentences. Instead: Start out with the key concepts and then write the rest
with your own words.

Hand-in
Please add the cover page (at the very end of this document) with the requested information
as page no 1. Do not write your name on any page of the exam (this will make it possible for
me to grade the exams anonymously). Insert page numbers, convert the document to a pdf-
file and name the document with your personal identification number.

Submission of exam paper: nadja.sorgarde.lu@analys.urkund.se

Deadline: Friday 1st June 2018, 17:00 hrs.

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2. Exam questions
Based on the case “Reorganisation at Technocom Inc.”:

1. How is work designed and controlled before and after the organisational change? What
are the pros and cons with these ways of organising and controlling work? Discuss.

2. How can the happenings in the case be understood from a cultural perspective? Use
theoretical concepts and ideas about culture to analyse and make sense of the happenings.

3. What would you have done if you had got the position as the production manager
instead of Ove Ljungberg and why? Discuss.

To discuss involves describing different aspects of an issue and relating these to each other.
Make sure to point out inconsistency and complexity as well as consistency.

PS. The evaluation criteria (below) can give you further hints about what to think about!

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3. Evaluation criteria
a) Usage of theory (2p/question)
Does the discussion have strong theoretical support? Does the author show a thorough
knowledge and understanding of the theories used? Are the applied theories relevant
and used in a meaningful way?

b) Usage of the case (2p/question)

Does the discussion have strong empirical support? Is the empirical material used in a
relevant and meaningful way?

c) Analytical ability (2p/question)

Is the argumentation trustworthy? Interesting? Is the discussion reflective and critical?
I.e. does the author go beyond the obvious and does the author take ambiguities and
complexities into account?

d) Formal aspects (1p/question)

Normal essay conventions concerning formal aspects (language, structure and handling
of references) are required. The argumentation should be systematic and clear. These
are basic requirements, but if the text is very well written: 1p.

Bonus points from the seminars are added to the result of the regular exam (not valid for re-
exams).

Total no of points (exam + ev. bonus points) Grade

18-23 A
16-17 B
14-15 C
12-13 D
11 E

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IBUA41: Organization and Leadership
Cover page take home exam (please fill in the required information below)

Personal identity number:

Word count (maximum 1.500):

I have worked on and written this exam all by myself (yes/no):

Before you send it in, please check the following:

a) That you have filled in the requested information above

b) That you do not have your name anywhere in the exam
c) That you have inserted page numbers
d) That you have converted your paper to pdf-format
e) That you have named the document with your personal identity number
(example: 7411187169.pdf)

These are prerequisites for the paper to enter the grading process.